It’s clearly past it’s 2010 expiration date on the bottom…

(JK these things last forever)

Also, after you clean it up, run a few brews through because the cleaning can bring out some bad aluminum taste that a seasoned moka pot coated with oils doesn’t have.

Moka is definitely a very robust brew. If you find you’re getting bitterness, try tweaking your extraction with a larger grind size, higher temp (thus faster brew time), or both.

This. I switched to stainless. No aluminum or rancid oil, both of which I think negatively affect flavor. I even pour my La Croix into a glass because I don’t like the taste of the can. Maybe I’m just sensitive but I love a clean moka pot. I have at least one moka everyday.

If you’re new to jazz and have Spotify, there is a Spotify-curated playlist called, “Jazz Classics.” If you’re doing it the old fashioned way, you could do worse than starting with these albums: Kind of Blue, Love Supreme, Mingus Ah Um, Red Garland’s Piano, Time Out and almost any good Charlie Parker compilation of which there seem to be dozens.

Never thought of air fryer fresh roast… 😀

I love my Flair because each pull is unique and when the pull is great it’s some of the best ever. If you prefer consistency, may not be for you.

My personality gives me a lot of pleasure in tinkering and control so I love being completely hands on with the Flair. You will pull some of the best shots you’ve ever had when you get it dialed in. You will also have many fails. Although once you get the basic techniques down the fails are not undrinkable.

But because I enjoy this totally hand-crafted approach I even enjoy my fails. It’s like jazz improvisation.

I’m a Flair user and a little unfamiliar with the Robot. How is the preheating better? Is it in some method of temperature control or a way you don’t have to handle a detached brew chamber?

Thank you! I stumbled on this once and couldn’t find it again.

Great set up. Curious why the Bambino doesn’t work for light roasts. Water temp? I struggle a little with lighter roast extractions because of my altitude.

I absolutely love my Flair even more than a more expensive machines because you can totally geek out on different pressure profiles. But, I was describing it to a friend and he thought it was way more trouble than it’s worth. He wanted something more convenient.

Totally agree. My wife talked me into the pressure gauge and I have no idea how anyone can pull a great shot without it. And most of the fun is experimenting with different pressure profiles. And it’s pretty easy to preheat as @neanderthal said. I put my brew head on top of my open kettle so the steam heats it while the water starts to boil. The brew head itself is very thick and retains heat well. I saw a video that shows you do get a drop in temp over a pull which is usually 30-60 seconds for me. But also I’m at high altitude so while I have a different set of temperature issues to deal with I don’t know that I’m experiencing as dramatic a drop off.

I love my Flair Pro. I like being able to dial in my pressure profile (basically extraction flow) by hand depending on the beans or just my mood. Other wise I’m a stainless moka pot guy.